Copenhagen Zoo

Copenhagen Zoo is Denmark's most visited zoo and one of the oldest in Europe, founded in 1859 and still on its original site on the hill of Frederiksberg, between the royal gardens of Frederiksberg Have and Sondermarken, a short bus or metro ride west of the centre. It covers about eleven hectares and keeps more than four thousand animals of over two hundred species, and what sets it apart from most city zoos is its architecture. The Elephant House, designed by Norman Foster with the landscape architect Stig L. Andersson and opened in 2008, shelters the zoo's Asian elephants beneath two light-filled glass domes, and the herd can move between the house and a sandy outdoor range. The Arctic Ring, opened in 2013, lets you walk through an underwater tunnel while polar bears swim overhead, alongside seals and Arctic birds. The panda house, a yin-and-yang shaped habitat designed by Bjarke Ingels and his studio BIG, opened in 2019 for the giant pandas lent to Denmark by China. In the African section, the savanna holds giraffes, zebras and white rhinos, and the hippos have their own house with underwater viewing. The Tropical Zoo is a warm rainforest hall with free-flying birds, butterflies, sloths and crocodiles, a welcome refuge on cold days. The newest addition, the Leopard Trail for the zoo's rare Amur leopards, opened in March 2026. Families with small children will spend a long time at the Children's Zoo, a farm area with goats, pigs, rabbits and llamas where children can get close to the animals. Above it all stands the Zoo Tower, a wooden observation tower of over forty metres built in 1905, from which you can see across the city. The zoo is open every day of the year, with longer hours in summer and shorter ones in winter, and a skip-the-line ticket bought in advance saves time at the gate on busy days. The Copenhagen Card also includes entry. Allow at least half a day, and a full one with young children.

The zoo has a long history and has not always been comfortable with it. It was founded by an ornithologist, Niels Kjaerbolling, and has grown over more than a century and a half from a small collection of birds into a modern conservation zoo that takes part in European breeding programmes and helps run a biobank of samples for research. It became internationally controversial in 2014 when it put down a healthy young giraffe, Marius, to avoid inbreeding and performed a public dissection, and the debate that followed is still part of its story. Today the emphasis is on large, naturalistic enclosures and on explaining conservation work, and the newer habitats are among the best designed in Europe.

How to visit well: start early, when the animals are most active and the paths are quiet, and head first for the elephants and the Arctic Ring before the crowds arrive. Look at the daily programme at the entrance for feeding times and keeper talks, which are the best way to see the animals up close and to hear their stories. In winter, plan the route around the indoor houses, the Tropical Zoo, the hippo house and the Elephant House, so that you can warm up between the outdoor areas. Bring or buy food in the zoo; there are cafes and picnic areas, and families can easily spend the whole day here. The zoo hosts seasonal events, including Halloween and Christmas programmes, which add to its appeal in the darker months.

The setting is part of the pleasure. Frederiksberg Have, the romantic royal park next door, has lakes, canals and a small palace, and on the other side Sondermarken has the Cisterns, an underground art space in an old reservoir. Through the fence of the Elephant House you can even glimpse the elephants from the park. A day that combines the zoo in the morning with a walk through Frederiksberg Have and lunch in the cafes of Frederiksberg is one of the most relaxed in Copenhagen. Home of Carlsberg, the brewery visitor centre, is a short walk to the south.